Research Interests

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Biography

John P. Roberts, M.D. is a transplant surgeon and professor of surgery in the Division of Transplant Surgery. He also hold the Endowed Chair in Abdominal Transplantation. Dr. Roberts is a former interim chair of the Department of Surgery and served in that role from October 2016 through March 2018.

After receiving his medical degree at the University of California, San Diego, Dr. Roberts completed his postdoctoral training at the University of Washington, Cornell University and the University of Minnesota. Dr. Roberts supervises medical students, residents, and postdoctoral fellows. He has received awards from the residents for his teaching efforts. He is active in health policy regarding transplantation and is a member of professional and public service organizations related to this field.

Dr. Roberts serves on numerous national committees related to his expertise on organ distribution. He frequently delivers presentations on topics involving transplantation science and the management of surgical patients.

Please note: UCSF Profiles publications are automatically derived from MEDLINE/PubMed and other sources, which might result in incorrect or missing publications. Researchers can login to make corrections and additions, or contact CTSI for help.

In the News

The Spring/Summer 2017 issue of Inside Surgery is now available online. Inside Surgery is a Department of Surgery brochure showcasing the clinical and research advances of our faculty. The edition highlights minimally invasive bariatric surgery to treat metabolic disease, and robotic surgery deployed across a variety of surgical specialties within the Department. The newsletter begins with a tribute to the outgoing Chair, Nancy L. Ascher, M.D., Ph.D. via a letter from the Interim [...]

UCSF News reports on a just published study in the The New England Journal of Medicine in which mild hypothermia in deceased organ donors was found to significantly reduce delayed graft function in kidney transplant recipients compared with normal body temperature. The lead author of the study is Claus Niemann, MD, Professor of Anesthesia and Surgery at UCSF, and co-Director of the Ischemic Organ Injury Lab. The findings in the study could lead to an increase in the availability of kidneys for [...]

A new video on AASLD TV (American Association for the Study of Liver Diseases) features the UCSF Liver Transplant Program and faculty John P. Roberts, M.D., Norah A. Terrault, M.D., M.P.H. and Francis Y.K. Yao, M.D. As a leader in the treatment of liver disease and transplantation, UCSF has performed more than 2,500 liver transplants in both children and adults, many in their growing living donor liver transplantation program. The UCSF team is also researching cures for hepatitis as well as [...]

UCSF News reports on a study that found that the vast majoirty of liver transplant candidates who died or were delisted from the transplant list had previously received one or more liver donation offers:
Most liver transplant candidates who died or were removed from the transplant list actually received one or more liver donation offers, according to a recent UCSF study.
"What we found challenges the simplistic view that transplant dynamics are driven simply by organ availability," said [...]

UCSF News report on a joint collaboration between UCSF and Walgreen that provides blood pressure testing at no charge to living kidney donors.
While recipients of living donor kidney transplants receive steady follow-up care, the living donors themselves also need to be monitored. To make follow-up care more accessible, UC San Francisco and Walgreens (NYSE: WAG) (Nasdaq: WAG) are collaborating to launch the first program in the country that provides blood pressure testing at no charge to [...]

UCSF's Kidney Transplant Program has ranked number one in the country for transplant volume, according to the newest data just released by the Scientific Registry of Transplant Recipients (SRTR). The program, led by John Roberts, M.D., Chief of the Transplant Service and Division of Transplant Surgery at UCSF, transplanted a total of 355 adult and pediatric kidney patients from July 1, 2012 through June 30, 2013 (this includes living donor and deceased donor transplants). Established in 1964, [...]

"The sun wasn't up at 5 o'clock Wednesday morning, but a new day had already dawned for Matthew Ouimet. Matthew, a 2-year-old Antioch boy who had waited 15 months for a life-sustaining kidney and liver transplant, had his new organs. Dr. John Roberts took the lead on the liver transplant, and Dr. Peter Stock, who handled the kidney procedure in a 12-hour surgery that began around 6 p.m. Tuesday, delivered the good news to parents Kristi and Kelly Ouimet and a half-dozen family members who spent [...]

Liver cancer patients in need of an organ transplant often face a cruel reality -- while waiting for a deceased-donor liver, their cancer may worsen, spreading to other organs and making them ineligible for a transplant. With two children to raise and time ticking down, Amy Baghdadi was fast running out of options. But at her daughter's soccer practice, a fellow parent, who happened to be UCSF transplant surgeon, Andrew Posselt, M.D., Ph.D., heard Amy's story, and convinced there were other [...]

John P. Roberts, M.D., Professor and Chief of Transplant Surgery and the Organ Transplant Service at UCSF, has been elected President of the National Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing (OPTN/UNOS) Board of Directors. Roberts will serve a one-year term beginning in late June 2012.

UCSF News reports on the award of a $2 million grant by the Health Resources and Services Administration (HRSA) to a team led by Claus Niemann, MD, Associate Professor in the UCSF Department of Anesthesia and Perioperative Care and co-Director of the Ischemic Organ Injury Lab to improve outcomes in organ donor transplantation.
The grant was awarded to Niemann and his collaborators including John Feiner, MD, as well as Ryutaro Hirose, MD, and John Roberts, MD, chief of the UCSF Transplant [...]

Dr. John Roberts, UCSF professor and chief of transplant surgery, has been elected vice president/president-elect of the Organ Procurement and Transplantation Network/United Network for Organ Sharing (OPTN/UNOS) Board of Directors. Roberts will serve a one-year term beginning in June 2011 and will become the organization's president in June 2012.

"John Roberts, M.D., chief of the UCSF Transplant Service and a leading expert in liver transplant surgery for adults and children, recently talked with Andrew Schorr of Patient Power about the risks and benefits of living donor liver transplant surgery. Liver transplants provide patients a chance for a longer, more active life in the final stages of liver disease or end-stage liver disease. At UCSF Medical Center, the majority of organs for transplantation are obtained from people who have [...]

UCSF Medical Center's Liver Transplant Program exceeded all standards for adult transplants in an annual review by the Kaiser Permanente National Transplant Network. Outcomes data, including national benchmarks of the United Network of Organ Sharing (UNOS), were used in the review. Dr. Ronald Potts, quality performance medical director at Kaiser, recognized UCSF for the "statistically high patient and graft survival outcomes." UCSF outcomes for adults have been consistently higher than [...]

UCSF News reports on the the difficult choices that patients, families and doctors face because of the shortage of donated organs for transplantation.
A difficult conundrum for the nation's transplant patients was aired September 22 when the news program California Connected featured UCSF's Liver Transplant Program. The story, produced by Jon Dann for public television stations KQED and KCET, highlights the difficult choices that patients, families and doctors face because of the shortage of [...]

"Of all the things for a married couple to bicker about, Nancy Ascher and John Roberts have hit on a first -- a pulsing human liver. To be precise, they are standing forehead to forehead with a man splayed out between them. Roberts wants more of his liver to take next door to a waiting recipient. Ascher wants more of it left behind for the donor's recovery."

Patient Stories

Alyssa flanked by mother Kim and older sister
My name is Kim Welch, and my daughter Alyssa’s story is one of hope and survival. She was born 15 years ago with autosomal recessive polycystic kidney disease (ARPKD). ARPKD causes severe damage to both your kidney and liver. Alyssa was two and a half years old when she had her first kidney transplant.
Ten days after her successful kidney transplant, unrelated to her congenital disease, Alyssa was diagnosed with eye cancer. Her left eye was surgically removed and replaced with an artificial one. Time marched on and so did Alyssa’s[...]

Amy Baghdadi was living a perfectly normal life — working as a lawyer and raising two young kids with her husband in San Francisco. While training for a half marathon her side would ache after long runs. She figured it was just pulled a muscle. Then one evening the pain was so excruciating that her husband made her go to the emergency room. An ultrasound revealed that her liver was full of tumors, which were quickly diagnosed as cancer.
After an aggressive chemotherapy regimen failed, Baghdadi's treatment options were running out. Liver[...]

Stephen Fowler and Patrick Caldie have more in common than teaching at-risk high school students at the El Dorado County Office of Education. On Feb. 1, 2007, Fowler donated part of his liver to Caldie at UCSF Medical Center's Liver Transplant Program, one of the nation's leading centers for adult and pediatric liver transplants.
Fowler underwent a new procedure, called a living donor transplant, which allows a living person to donate a segment of their liver that then grows or regenerates to full size in the recipient. UCSF liver transplant[...]

When Gloria Ramos received the call in August 2000 that UCSF Medical Center had a liver for the transplant she badly needed, the Ramos family drove to the hospital with great anticipation and excitement. But further testing of the available organ revealed it wasn't a good match for Gloria and her daughters and husband expressed their disappointment.
"This only means that I'm at the top of the list," Gloria recalls assuring her family. "I'll get called again!"
Gloria contracted Hepatitis C through a blood transfusion in 1982 but the deadly virus lived undetected in her body until the summer[...]

Parking

Parking at Parnassus

Public parking for an hourly fee at UCSF Medical Center is available in the seven-level Millberry Union Garage at 500 Parnassus Ave. There are two garage entrances — one on the north side of Parnassus Avenue and another on Irving Street, just east of Third Avenue.

Another garage with an hourly fee, at 350 Parnassus Ave., is open Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Metered street parking is rarely available.

Patients being admitted to the hospital may be dropped off at the circular driveway leading to the main entrance at 505 Parnassus Ave. This area also may be used to pick up patients who are being discharged.

For more information about parking at Parnassus, call Campus Parking Services at 476-2566.

Valet Parking Service

Valet parking service is available at the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) at 400 Parnassus Ave. from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The valet service is free but patients must pay regular parking fees. For more information about the valet service, call (415) 476-6200.

A UCSF "greeter" also is available at the ACC from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to assist patients find their way.

Public Transportation

Parnassus

UCSF Medical Center is accessible via Muni streetcar line N-Judah*, which stops at Second Avenue and Irving Street, and the following Muni bus lines, which stop in front of the hospital:

Parking

Parking at Parnassus

Public parking for an hourly fee at UCSF Medical Center is available in the seven-level Millberry Union Garage at 500 Parnassus Ave. There are two garage entrances — one on the north side of Parnassus Avenue and another on Irving Street, just east of Third Avenue.

Another garage with an hourly fee, at 350 Parnassus Ave., is open Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Metered street parking is rarely available.

Patients being admitted to the hospital may be dropped off at the circular driveway leading to the main entrance at 505 Parnassus Ave. This area also may be used to pick up patients who are being discharged.

For more information about parking at Parnassus, call Campus Parking Services at 476-2566.

Valet Parking Service

Valet parking service is available at the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) at 400 Parnassus Ave. from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The valet service is free but patients must pay regular parking fees. For more information about the valet service, call (415) 476-6200.

A UCSF "greeter" also is available at the ACC from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to assist patients find their way.

Public Transportation

Parnassus

UCSF Medical Center is accessible via Muni streetcar line N-Judah*, which stops at Second Avenue and Irving Street, and the following Muni bus lines, which stop in front of the hospital:

Parking

Parking at Parnassus

Public parking for an hourly fee at UCSF Medical Center is available in the seven-level Millberry Union Garage at 500 Parnassus Ave. There are two garage entrances — one on the north side of Parnassus Avenue and another on Irving Street, just east of Third Avenue.

Another garage with an hourly fee, at 350 Parnassus Ave., is open Monday to Friday from 6 a.m. to 10 p.m.

Metered street parking is rarely available.

Patients being admitted to the hospital may be dropped off at the circular driveway leading to the main entrance at 505 Parnassus Ave. This area also may be used to pick up patients who are being discharged.

For more information about parking at Parnassus, call Campus Parking Services at 476-2566.

Valet Parking Service

Valet parking service is available at the Ambulatory Care Center (ACC) at 400 Parnassus Ave. from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. The valet service is free but patients must pay regular parking fees. For more information about the valet service, call (415) 476-6200.

A UCSF "greeter" also is available at the ACC from 8 a.m. to 5 p.m. to assist patients find their way.

Public Transportation

Parnassus

UCSF Medical Center is accessible via Muni streetcar line N-Judah*, which stops at Second Avenue and Irving Street, and the following Muni bus lines, which stop in front of the hospital: